TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 21st August 2008

After a nice iMPACT last week I was looking forward to seeing how TNA were going to improve and get us closer to No Surrender. Was Sting going to show up and was Jarrett going to put in an appearance.

Good Points

MCMG turning heel

Good to see TNA doing something with MCMG. After a big push as top babyface tag team there act had become a bit stale recently so to see them pushed heel should see them getting back up the PPV card again.

Angle screwed again

Once again Angle was screwed at the hands of a guitar. TNA are really pushing an Angle / Jarrett feud for when he returns. This week Angle tried to get his medals again but this time in a ladder match in which when it looked like he was going to do it the lights went out and AJ had a guitar in his hands. As well as pushing Jarrett / Angle these wins are really pushing AJ even though they aren’t clean.

Push for Matt Morgan

It looks like Matt Morgan has a feud finally and with Team 3D. After Morgan’s win he was jumped by Team 3D to which Abyss made the save. It’s good to see Matt Morgan involved in a storyline around such established names.

Bad Points

Two main storylines both carbon copies

To bring back two of the biggest TNA stars in the same fashion by having lights go out and then wrestlers appear with their weapons of choice with the wrestlers in question never actually appearing on TNA is terrible. Ok Sting has been announced for a comeback next week on iMPACT but it still isn’t the best. These are both major returns of Sting and Jarrett and to do them both at the same time and in the same way isn’t the way to go.

TNA need to do more to appeal to the casual fan

With the wrestling audience shrinking TNA need to stop doing the storylines that appeal to the internet wrestling fans which is an even smaller group again. This week we had Nash talking about the backstage workings of wrestling which didn’t need to be said.

Overall

A really good show which will be a million times better when Sting and Jarrett are on the show. TNA need to b careful not to drag the Jarrett storyline out too long.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 22nd August 2008

Fter Raw was a bit of a mess I hope the Smackdown brand could do a good job with their first show since the PPV. Would the Undertaker appear? Who will be HHH’s next challenger? And is it the last we have seen of Edge?

Good Points

The Undertaker speaks

Was great to see The Undertaker rock up at the end of Smackdown after being promoted heavily during the show. The two lines Undertaker delivered were awesome and showed everyone else that it’s not about how much mic time you have when you deliver like he does. After getting his revenge on Edge Undertaker also got the chance to get revenge on the family as he left them lying in the ring to end the show.

Use of Big Show

Big Show was overlooked for the qualifying matches to see who would be involved in the title match at Unforgiven. He played the angle well having words with Vickie and then clearing house during a ten man battle royal that he wasn’t even a part of. I just hope they put him in a programme with Taker as both don’t yet have a match for Unforgiven.

Nice Unforgiven Promo

Really like the promo vid for Unforgiven. A real push for Batista as he alludes to thing he has done in his life for which he will be unforgiven.

Bad Points

Copying Raw

Smackdown will have the same title match as Raw for Unforgiven that being the 5 man scramble. There were some interesting inclusions in the match with The Brian Kendrick, Shelton Benjamin, MVP and Jeff Hardy all getting a chance to take HHH’s belt. It doesn’t look as good as the Raw five man but am happy MVP is getting the push. The match was announced with little fanfare as if the fans already knew what the main event was going to be. If you truly want to build two brands then you need to act as if the fans only watch your show and not the other.

Use of Kenny Dykstra

Now I like Kenny I think he has some potential but he is being pushed in a stupid way. First they bring him back to be squashed in a title match by HHH with no build and then on this week’s Smackdown he had to interrupt HHH’s in ring promo just to get pedigree’d right away. It’s good to see him around the main segments but it is doing him no good in the long run.

Overall

More good than bad which is more that can be said for Raw. The one thing Smackdown needs to do is develop another strong mid card talent. Benjamin Kendrick and Hardy are good wrestlers but not the best on the mic. With it being a five man main event for Unforgiven I can only see Smackdown putting two matches worth seeing in to Unforgiven that being the five man and an Undertaker match as there is no other real talent or feud which you would pay to see.

WWE Raw Review - 18th August 2008

After an average SummerSlam I was still looking forward to Raw as coming out of the PPV there seemed to be some interesting directions they could take the storylines in the run up to Unforgiven.

Good Points

Build for Jericho

After not having much of a push since his return finally Jericho is getting pushed back to the top in his feud with Shawn Michaels. Jericho gave a great promo in the ring to start the show off where he blamed Michaels and the fans for him hitting Michaels wife. He also ended the show with a non tile victory over Cm Punk so is being pushed as the main draw.

New concept for title match at Unforgiven

The theme for Adamle’s tenure as GM on Raw has been coming up with new and different concepts for matches. This time in a TNA style idea they are having a scramble match for the title between five competitors which will have a twenty minute time limit with the last competitor to get a submission or pinfall victory being declared the champion. Although I’m not sure about the quality of the match it will be a way of getting the belt off Punk which doesn’t harm him.

Santino stealing the show

Santino marella along with Beth Phoenix are stealing the show in the undercard right now. Who cares that Santino can’t wrestle as his character skills and mic skills put even the main eventers to shame. If only he was a bigger guy who could wrestle, if he was he would be the new Rock which the WWE really needs.

Bad Points

Killing CM Punk

CM Punk’s credibility was killed on Raw as in his hometown he lost a non tile main event to Jericho who isn’t even a challenger for the title. I think now the sooner they got the belt off him the better as he will never be allowed to go over big on anyone and it is doing him no favours to continue to be the champion the way he is being booked.

Main event stars put in throwaway matches

The guys who main evented SummerSlam were all put in terrible matches as JBL beat Jamie Noble, John Cena beat DiBiase and Holly. Then to add to this Batista was allowed to run over Burchill. It’s great to see Burchill being booked against the main event stars but he shouldn’t just be used for this.

Kane off the backburner

After having nothing to do at SummerSlam they are pushing Kane again by putting him in the main event at Unforgiven, giving him promo time on Raw and then having him chokeslam Batista. They should have continued Batista’s heel push and have him as champion not have him feuding with a heel who is probably not going to be given the title.

Overall

If it wasn’t for Jericho and Santino the show would have sucked. When the two guys you tune in for aren’t the main eventers in the championship scene you know there’s a problem.

WWE SummerSlam Review

Back in the day SummerSlam was sold as the hottest event of the Summer however in recent years I think it has lost it’s magic and it’s importance. To me SummerSlam is now just another monthly PPV which was proved by a gimmick match with no title at stake being booked as the main and two horrible title matches which haven’t been hyped. So with this in mind here are my thoughts on the show.

Good Points

Development of Jericho / HBK feud

Now everyone with an ounce of intelligence knows that HBK isn’t going to retire and him coming out to announce his retirement was just a way to get even more heat on Jericho and to add to it they have brought HBK’s wife in the mix. As Jericho went to confront HBK he accidentally hit HBK’s wife instead which will goad HBK to change his mind to defend the honour of his wife. The way that have brought his wife back I think that she is going to end up turning on HBK to add even more spice to this feud which could be the feud of the year.

Batista vs John Cena

I thought these two for the suppose little wrestling talent they have put on a superb match which was really entertaining and left you wanting more. By not having JBL win the title they needed a heel to go against CM Punk and this match did good at turning Batista in to a heel as he did everything that good heel does in the match. The only problem is besides another feud with JBL where does this leave Cena?

Bad Points

Two worst title matches ever

A major PPV should revolve around the title matches but it was the two non title main event matches that stole the show. By putting both of the matches early in the card this event devalued the belts in my eyes as the championship match should always be the match people come to see and the match people go home talking about.

Hell in a Cell

Now if you watch the original Hell in a Cell between HBK and Undertaker you will see an impressive match with lots of psychology which kept you on the edge of your seat without any major spots. Then you had the spots in the Hell in a Cell between Undertaker and Mankind that will never be topped. So to do a good entertaining Hell in a Cell match is very hard. When these two had a brilliant story to tell they instead had a match that was geared round a couple of spots which compared to the Mankind match weren’t that impressive.

Overall

A PPV that will soon be forgotten about and that lacked substance. There are too many titles in the WWE right now which only goes toe devalue them and dilute them and they need to cut back on the number of title matches on a PPV. When my highlight of the night was a non wrestling section it kind of tells you all you need to know.

TNA iMPACT Review - Thursday 14th August 2008

After an ok Hard Justice I was looking forward to iMPACT as the event had left some questions to be answered and some doors wide open which should be what a PPV tries to do.

Good Points

Jarrett on his way back

The show was all about teasing the return of Jarrett with Samoa Joe teasing it in the opening interview of the show and then by at the end having the lights go out, Jarrett’s music hitting and AJ having a guitar in hand. They really need to finish the Sting storyline properly first but at least it is keeping things interesting.

Nice reference to the Olympics

Was good to see TNA linking in to the Olympics with Angle doing an interview about his success at the Olympics and then putting his Gold Medal o the line in an Olympic wrestling style challenge against AJ for the main event.

Push for Matt Morgan

After being left out of the PPV Matt Morgan got his biggest push to date as after a promo in which he referred to himself as a the Blueprint and after a win over Jonny Divine, Abyss came down to the ring and when it looked like Abyss was going to take Morgan out he just shook his hand as both stood and posed for the cameras. This new partnership could be a force to be reckoned with in TNA.

Bad Points

No Sting

Even though we had another blackout moment with his music we could have really done with a Sting promo to explain his actions at Hard Justice. The only thing I can think is maybe Sting, Jarrett and Nash are going to be forming a faction at some point and takeover TNA as Nash says he hasn’t told Joe everything and now Sting and Jarrett are doing similar things with blackouts and having their music play.

Segment arrangement

Yet again I witnessed three back to back backstage interviews. Like I keep on saying this stuff should take precedent in a weekly TV show but it doesn’t mean you have three like segments bunched together.

Overall

Highly enjoyable if not a bit rough round the edges. TNA needs to be very careful how it builds the main storylines as it could very easily become quite confusing.

My SummerSlam Predictions

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP

MVP is stuck going nowhere at the minute, at one point I thought they may give him a main event push but seem to be stalling with him here. This match does nothing for either guy really, I expect Hardy to get the win in his first major Smackdown feud and help propel him further up the card on Smackdown.

Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy is going to be the new face of ECW so I expect him to win this one. To have him lose would ruin his position and with him winning Mark Henry can always have a rematch which would keep ECW moving nicely for the next month.

Kofi Kingston and Mickie James vs. Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix

I know WWE are really starting to push Santino and Beth as a couple so I wouldn’t be surprised to see the titles changing here. Love the concept for the match by having singles titles on the line in a tag match. Mickie James has got stale as champ and I’m not sure if Kofi is ready for a title yet but it will be a bold move by the creative team to switch both titles in one night.

John Cena vs. Batista

Since coming back and winning the Rumble Cena really hasn’t done much he has lost at Mania and on PPV to JBL. He really needs a win to get it back on track but WWE seem to be really pushing Batista at the moment. With this in mind I would probably go with a Batista win.

CM Punk vs JBL

I love CM Punk but with the undercard that Raw has at the moment with John Cena and Batista both being seen as faces it makes sense for JBL to win the title here to set up a feud with either or. CM Punk is only a transitional champ and has held the title for longer than I expected him to.

Triple H vs. The Great Khali

Word is that Khali is soon to be done with wrestling and after being booked in a shocking match I don’t think they are going to have the belt taken off Triple H as well. With no title change here it then makes sense for this title to stay the same.

The Undertaker vs. Edge

Makes no sense for The Undertaker to lose although when people get built up in a match for not being able to lose they normally have them lose to build the other guy. If Edge wins it will be a screw job type finish but my money is still on an Undertaker win.

One more thing to look out for

When Randy Orton got injured WWE originally said SummerSlam as his return date and this week there have been many stories circulating about Orton getting injured which could be a cover story for the fact that he will be at SummerSlam. If he is to get involved anywhere it will either be in the John Cena / Batista match or Hell in a Cell.

WWE Smackdown Review - Friday 15th August 2008

It being the last Smackdown before SummerSlam I was expecting to see some great build up for Edge vs Undertaker which should headline the show.

Good Points

HHH actually has a wrestling match

Was good to see HH actually wrestling on Smackdown all it be it in a throwaway match against Kenny Dykstra. The match set up the situation for HHH to get Khali in to the ring who was watching from the outside and lay a beat on him which is all good build for SummerSlam.

Good build for MVP vs. Jeff Hardy

Although this match will do for their future career the build has been really good for this one. I feel the animosity from MVP and can’t wait to see the match. This week MVP cost Hardy the US title as he had Shelton beat but Hardy still managed to lay a beating on MVP. MVP followed this up by later cutting a great promo on Hardy.

Bad Points

Match order

For the last match of the card to be Kozlov vs. Festus is shocking there is no way that should ever be a last match of any show. They should have saved either HHH or the Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin match for last.

Too many new guys

This week we had Scotty Goldman who many wrestling fans will know as Colt Cabana, Bryan Braddock and Kenny Dykstra who may not be new but has not be on TV for some time. I love Colt or should I say Kenny but the rest I’m not a big fan of. If you are going to bring new faces in the fold you have to do this gradually not all at once.

Overall

It was like wrestling the 90s when the big named stars use to wrestle local jobbers. The show lacked any entertainment and quality, it was of house show standard at best.